


Making Changes

by Madilayn



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Gen, Thunderbirds are Go - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-13
Updated: 2015-06-13
Packaged: 2018-04-04 05:23:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4126840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madilayn/pseuds/Madilayn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jeff Tracy has gone missing and International Rescue has to make some changes to cope with this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have to admit that I have always been a proponent of the Tracy brothers being older than the series has wanted them to be. So for the purposes of all my fics, I tend to place Scott at around 32, John at 30, Virgil at 29, Gordon at 24 and Alan at 22. That way they actually have had enough life to get experience needed

Grandma Tracy was worried. The whole situation the family was currently in was heartbreaking to her – her only remaining son missing, and now her five grandsons killing themselves to try to find their missing father.

In the last two weeks, they had only returned home long enough to refuel the Thunderbird machines, and if she was lucky, they might sleep or try to eat something. Showering seemed to have taken the place of sleep, however, and once clear eyes and razor-sharp brains were now dulled with grief and fatigue.

Even the hologram of John looked blurry, as if his own fatigue and emotions were blurring the image. 

Her own eyes were red and dark ringed from her own outpouring of grief. No mother should ever have to outlive her children. But… she had her five grandsons to look after now. 

She entered the lounge area and was surprised to see the four earth-bound boys sitting in the seating area, faces darkened with stubble, eyes half closed with fatigue, bodies slumped with defeat. Her heart broke anew. 

“Boys, you should go to bed,” she said gently. “All you will do here is hurt yourselves. You need proper sleep.”

“But what if we hear something and…..”

“But nothing!” Grandma Tracy interrupted. “Exactly the same if a call comes in when you are sleeping. You wake up and attend to it. But you can’t function as you are. Just as your ships need refuelling so do you.” She hardened her heart. “You’re no use to anybody if you are so tired that you can’t actually function enough to fly a Thunderbird. “

Winces were visible on Virgil and Alan’s faces at her words. “What happened?” she asked.

“Mucked up landing,” Virgil mumbled. “Thunderbird Two is out of action until Brains can repair it”.

“Well, you’re damn lucky he can repair it. And you’re even luckier that it isn’t you needing major repairs,” came the voice of Kayo as she entered with Brains. Her normally controlled voice was tight with anger and other emotions.

“I don’t need this,” Virgil muttered, attempting unsuccessfully to stand and storm off. His fatigued body had other ideas.

“But you will hear it,” Grandma said. Her sharp voice cut through the haze that the boys had been in since their father disappeared on a mission. For the first time they looked, really looked at her. They saw her own pain etched in her face.

“This is a tragedy for us all,” she said. “And I fully understand what’s driving you. I haven’t helped, asking for updates and all. But you’ve reached burnout. Brains and Kayo can’t keep up with what they need to do to keep the Thunderbirds operating. You’ve only just been giving them enough time to refuel and do a basic check before you’re off again. “ Tears filled her eyes. Again. “None of us can keep this up. It’s been a month now. We need to face facts, and to start looking at this professionally.”

“But it’s Father,” Scott said.

“I know, Scott. But tell me, what is the guideline International Rescue has for searches?”

“Two weeks,” Gordon said numbly. “Especially for sea searches. Two weeks and if our equipment can’t find them, then they either don’t want to be found, or we are not going to find them.”

“And considering Jeff was on a mission – in an International Rescue ship, being monitored by you, John,” and she looked at the hologram of John that had been a near constant in the house. “Then if we can’t even pick up our own signals, then what does that tell you.” Her voice trailed off and she swayed, suddenly feeling like her body was boneless. 

Alan, closest to her, jumped up and guided his grandmother to a chair, then sank down at her feet, resting his head in her lap as he had done so many times as a child, looking for her comfort. “Please boys,” she said. “Please. Let it end. If I’ve lost my son, I don’t want to lose my grandsons as well.” Her head dropped. “We’ve done all we can. Pulled every string available to us. In this search, we’ve found people and things long thought gone. If we could find them, and not one of our own, then …” Her voice, soft to start with trailed off.

Around her she felt the warmth and strength of her grandsons. She gave her final argument – the one that would bring an end to the active search, even though her heart broke to do it. “What would your father say if he knew that you were throwing away the thing that meant as much to him as you do?”

“I don’t like it,” said Scott. “I have to believe he’s out there.”

“You can, Scott. But you have to let your life go on.” His grandmother’s eyes caught his, boring into him. “You think I don’t know? I’ve lost a husband and now three sons. You have to go on. Have to live. Otherwise all of the love that you have for them counts for nothing. What better way to honour your father than to keep going.”

Scott blinked, and raised himself to his full height. “We don’t stop looking,” he said sternly and his grandmother’s spirit sank. She had failed her son… “John, subroute the search for dad to the background but keep it going non-stop. Brains, make sure that all instruments have the same search subroutine running every time we go out. “ She felt her heart lift as Scott gave his instructions and she looked at him, and he leaned forward kissed his Grandmother’s cheek. “You’re right grandma. Father would be kicking our butts from here to Thunderbird Five and back for this. But we won’t stop looking whenever we are out, and in the background. We will keep looking. And we will find him.”

Scott paused, suddenly feeling his fatigue wash through him, and the gnawing hunger in his belly. But he had one more thing he had to so. “I’m giving an order – all of us stand down. Brains, Kayo, I need you to start the full maintenance sequences on all Thunderbirds. Start with Two, so she will be available if we need her. Then Four. Do One last.”

Brains nodded. “Right away Scott.”

“No… it can wait until morning.” Scott saw how tired their Engineer was.

“It’s all right. There are things that can be done automatically that I can get running on all of them now.”

“Even if you had to,” Kayo put in, “I don’t think any of you would be actually capable of doing a rescue at the moment.”

“I have to admit you’re right,” Virgil said grudgingly. He yawned widely. “Have to say, I’m looking forward to some sleep.” 

Grandma looked at her grandsons still gathered close around her. She gently touched Alan’s hair. “Then go. Sleep. We can make plans in the morning.”

As they trailed out she looked at her second oldest grandson. “You too, John. I know you have systems that will alert you if we’re needed.”

“I just…”

“Sleep. Now.”

“Yes, grandma.”

“I’ll know if you haven’t gone, you know.”

“How?”

“I’m a grandmother, John. It’s like being a mother on steroids. Trust me. I’ll know.”

“Are you sure I can’t connect you to Colonel Casey before I go off?”

Grandma’s eyes narrowed. “Have you been snooping, John?”

“Who? Me?”

“I mean it John. Have you?”

“No Grandma. I know you contacted her, but hearts promise, I don’t know what you discussed.”

“Well, her encryption would help prevent that.” Grandma’s tone was wry. She knew John.

“Even so. It was a private call. I don’t snoop on those. I do know she’s been helping try to find Father.”

“She has. And she’s been concerned for all of you as well. She will be pleased to know you are standing down.”

John stretched and yawned. “Guess we’ve got more people than we realised looking out for us. Night Grandma.” His image vanished and Grandma Tracy sat back and closed her eyes briefly.

“Oh my boys,” she whispered. “If only you knew.” She sighed and sat straighter. One call to make, and then she would seek her bed as well. After she had checked on her boys, of course.


	2. Chapter 2

“No, Scott. This is something you need to organise yourselves.” Colonel Casey looked sternly at the young man before her. “And don’t try telling me you don’t know how. I know your professional backgrounds – all of you. And I’ve known you all since you were children. I know perfectly well what you are capable of. And you are capable of this. It just means that you need to start thinking differently on how International Rescue works.”

Scott groaned. “It was working so well,” he said.

The hologram seated opposite him laughed. “Actually, when you think about it, it wasn’t working as efficiently as it could.” Colonel Casey leaned forward. “Stop thinking like a child and start thinking like the Command Officer I know you are. Look at your resources. You have everything you need – you just need to utilise those resources more efficiently.”

Scott frowned, his mind working. “But Dad put the structure in place.”

“Scott, your father, admirable though he was, was your father first. And he always did have a problem in delegating authority.”

Scott grinned suddenly, unexpectedly. “Terminology noted. Work he delegated well.”

Casey laughed, her own memories of Jeff Tracy delegation of duties surfacing in her mind. “Oh hell yeah. But think on it. No matter what, he was your father. So he wanted to know what you were doing - for his own peace of mind really. You have John in Thunderbird 5 and he’s badly underutilised. When I think what I could do with all that technology he has…”

“We could come to a deal...” Scott began but was cut off.

“Don’t tempt me Scott. And you certainly are – but International Rescue needs to remain unattached to any of the world military bodies. I can contract your services for non-military uses, but I can’t have a hand in running International Rescue except to provide advice and an ear to listen. And even that I need to do as a friend. You need to start drawing on your background. You were a fine Air Wing Commander – you wouldn’t have reached that level without having leadership, strategic and organisational skills. You are a very good Field Commander for International Rescue. Start thinking of the whole organisation now and how best you can get things running without your father. And I suggest you start with Thunderbird 5.”

“That wasn’t the answer I was looking for.” Even to his own ears, Scott realised he sounded like a thwarted child.

“Perhaps not. But it’s the answer you’ll get from me. Good luck, Scott, and let me know how you go. I’m always here for advice. Casey out.”

To Scott’s credit, he didn’t groan that loudly, but he did rub his temples. “Why me,” he moaned.

“Because you’re the oldest,” Virgil answered, having overheard as he entered the living area. “Next question.”

“Can I not be the oldest for once?”

“Think carefully before you wish that one. Remember what happened when you wanted that and Father let Gordon be the oldest.”

Scott winced. “Point taken. It’s a no from Colonel Casey, by the way.”

Virgil snorted. “Did you expect anything else? That woman delights in making things difficult for us.”

“She said that she can contract International Rescue for “non-military uses”,” he said. “I think that she’s been stretching that phrase just about as far as it will go.”

“I think she’s stretched it beyond as far as it will go given what we’ve done for her in the past. Has she given you anything useful?”

“She mentioned Thunderbird 5 several times and that we are underutilising John.”

It was Virgil’s turn to frown, but not in annoyance but in thought. “I suppose…. You know she may have a point. We may want to think carefully about that suggestion. John surprised me when we were searching for Dad with what he could do from up there – and the number of things he was able to do at once.”

“Yeah – he is good. Maybe I should talk to him. Ask him exactly what Thunderbird 5 is capable of.”

“Thunderbird 5?” Alan came in with a cup of coffee which he inhaled more than drank. “It’s amazing up there. Some of the things John’s shown me when I’ve been up there have blown my mind. He’s really been tweaking the systems.”

“Does Brains know?” Virgil asked, knowing what happened when Brains found they had been “playing” with his creations.

“No idea, but John actually knows what he is doing – unlike some other people we could all name.”

“Hey – I’m not a mechanical engineer! I didn’t know!”

”We know. That’s why you aren’t allowed to play with some bits. At least not without strict supervision. Stick to strategy and tactics.”

“So what’s this about Thunderbird 5 then?”” Alan was curious.

“I think we need a family meeting, Scott,” Virgil said. “That way we can talk to John and get his view on it all as well. Colonel Casey wouldn’t be stressing Five if there wasn’t a really good reason to.”

Scott sat back in the chair. “I wonder,” he said softly. “You’re right Virgil. We need to discuss this together. Brains and Kayo too – as well as grandma.” His voice trailed off again. “Definitely grandma. She knows more about all this than she’s saying.”


	3. Chapter 3

It took an hour for everybody to come together. Most of that time was spent waiting for Gordon to wake up. Alan had been all for waking him up in the gentle brotherly way by dumping water on him, however he was stopped by both Grandma and Scott. 

Grandma because it would drench the mattress and Scott because he was horrified by how pale Gordon was, even in sleep. He knew Gordon was as tough as the rest of them, but there were times when all of them were jolted into remembering that terrible time when they thought they would lose him. 

This was one of those times. Gordon, however, had another opinion.

“Scott! I’m fine. Back off. I’m tired, that’s all.”

“You were the first to go to sleep and the last to wake up. Are you sure you’re OK? Do you want more breakfast?”

“I’m fine. I’d be finer if you stopped Mother-Henning me. I’m so fine that if you don’t knock it off right now I’ll put you on your ass to show you just how fine I am.”

“He could, you know,” Kayo mentioned offhandedly, settling herself on a couch next to Virgil who smirked. 

“I definitely want to see that.”

“Why not experience it for yourself?”

“Because I highly doubt Gordon could put me on my ass.”

“Keep thinking that,” said Kayo before turning her attention to Scott.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, John,” Scott was saying. “But this is going to build on what we spoke on briefly earlier.”

“Did you get any sleep at all, Scott?” asked Virgil. 

“Yeah, I did. Quite a bit actually. I just woke up before the rest of you. Or rather, I was woken.” He looked at John who grinned back.

“Not my fault I had a brilliant idea that I just had to share.”

“E-mail, John. You don’t need to wake me up to share. Or you have four other brothers you can share with.”

“We can discuss that. You’re currently the only one I can wake up. Remember.”

“Which brings me to what we’re here for. I’ve already roughed something out with Virgil last night and John earlier this morning. This is my idea……”

… three hours later….

“Enough,” Virgil said firmly. “We’ve gone over and over this and it all comes down to the same thing.” He picked up the yellow pad he had been scribbling on. “We have to all take more responsibility in the field. Not wait for somebody to tell us what to do – to make the decision ourselves. And to all watch out for each other. John’s got the information if we only ask him for it, and Scott’ll always be there on the ground with us. We don’t need to change what works – only make it better.”

“Thanks, Virge. Are we all agreed?” Scott looked around at his brothers who nodded agreement. “Good.


	4. Chapter 4

“Base from Thunderbird 5 – we have a situation.”

“Go ahead, John,” Scott acknowledged, and sent out the call to his brothers to congregate in the living area. “I’m nearly inside.”

“I’ve had a call come in for some assistance – it’s time to test our new organisational theory.”

Scott jogged down the stairs and sat down as the large hologram sprang to life. “Go on – what are we needed for.”

“You know that there’s some major flooding happening along the Danube. Most of it is under control, but the Mária Valéria Bridge joining Esztergom in Hungary and Štúrovo in Slovakia is in real danger. A large, partially capsized, river cruiser has come loose and is heading for the bridge. They’ve managed to secure it for the moment, but their tugs can’t hold it much longer.”

“If that cruiser hits the bridge supports it could bring them down,” Virgil said. “And even if it doesn’t, it will end up damming the river behind it. Have they tried to turn it around so it’s not across the river?”

“They have,” John said. “But the cruiser was actually having work done on its top deck when the floods hit. There was a crane barge attached to it and it took the brunt of water when the weir upstream broke. It toppled the crane, and broke the mooring of the cruiser. The crane barge is dragging on the bottom of the river and it’s that which has pulled the cruiser across the river. They’ve tried to get down there to cut the crane loose but the current is too dangerous.” John deliberately looked at Gordon. “Even the WASPs won’t go down. They’re the ones who recommended International Rescue be contacted apparently.”

An image of the situation appeared and Scott nodded. “Right, looks like it’s definitely an International Rescue job. Especially if the WASPs won’t touch it.” He stood and moved towards the wall that would take him to Thunderbird 1. “Brains, see what information you can get on the cruiser, crane and the bridge. Virgil, I think this is going to take all of us to handle. Gordon – you’re the underwater expert. Work out what you need. And fast.”

“FAB,” came the rejoinder from five voices as he turned from sight, Virgil already running to his launch area to get Thunderbird 2 ready for flight. “Good thing you finished the maintenance, Brains,” Alan remarked as he waited for Gordon to join him. 

“Just in time too,” Brains agreed. “I was just coming to tell Scott that Thunderbird 1 had checked out OK to go.”

Gordon and Alan left at a run, after Gordon had had a very fast discussion with John, requesting information about weather conditions and the water currents and visibility. “I’m not looking forward to this,” he confessed to Alan as they changed on the travelator to Thunderbird 2. “If the WASPs have stepped back, then they’ve already tried everything they have, and anybody else who will have a go.” 

They emerged onto the flight deck of Thunderbird 2 as Scott’s voice announced he was airborne.

“FAB, Scott,” replied Virgil. “I’m still gearing up for this. I don’t want us to be caught short.”

“Good idea. But don’t take too long about it.”

“Ready to go now. Pod 4 is stocked and moving into place. And the peanut gallery have finally arrived.”

“Hey, I take exception to that remark!” Alan said, moving to the seat behind Virgil before being stopped by Gordon. 

“Take co-pilot. I need to spend the flight over familiarising myself with what that water is doing,” he said, his face grim. “John,” he connected with his brother in Thunderbird 5, “Can you put me in contact with the WASP Field Commander please.”

“FAB, Gordon. I’ll wait until you’re at cruising altitude and then patch a line through.”

“Thanks, and keep sending through anything you can get about any changes to that water.”

As Thunderbird 1 approached the disaster site, Scott sighed. So far things were going well with their new plans. 

Four hours later, Scott Tracy was wet, muddy and not sure which of the three brothers currently with him he wanted to kill more. It hadn’t been a complete disaster. The bridge was still intact. The cruiser had been guided safely through the supports, and Thunderbird Four had (eventually) succeeded in cutting the crane free. Crane and cruiser were now securely fastened downstream of the bridge after Alan and Virgil had managed to use the brute strength of both Thunderbirds One and Two to drag them out of the water and onto dry land. 

None of them were looking forward to hearing Brains’ opinion on what that little effort had done to their winching mechanisms. Scott didn’t think he would ever get the sound of the screaming metal out of his mind.

Why he had listened to Alan’s suggestion to do that, he would never know. And why he had agreed to Alan piloting Thunderbird One for the operation was another mystery, possibly explained by him being distracted by trying to coordinate all the efforts and information to get the job done.

Because that was his job. He was now the overall Commander of International Rescue after all. 

Who would have realised that the cruiser and the crane were that heavy. He was trying to ignore John in his ear with his “I could have told you that,” comments. He wasn’t a mechanical engineer – that was Virgil and Brains. 

Once again he sighed and tried to get rid of some of the mud. His brothers were dead. They were all clean and dry. It had been him who had measured his length not once, not twice, but three times in the muddy ground. He had then had to be ‘rescued’ himself when part of the river bank gave way underfoot, leaving him thankful for the protection of his uniform as he slammed to a stop against a semi-submerged fence post; breath knocked out of him and doubled over in pain.

The least his bastard brothers could have done was stop laughing while they helped him. And the WASPs. They had shown far too much enjoyment of his predicament. He looked over to where they were talking and laughing with Gordon. Yeah. He should have realised that all the fish-boys were alike. 

He activated his communicator. “OK everybody, we’re all done here? Time to head home.” He tried to put some authority into his voice. The crack that had once made junior flight lieutenants jump and scurry to carry out his orders.

Probably if his teeth weren’t chattering it would have sounded better. Probably if it wasn’t his brothers it would have worked. 

He had to work out what had gone wrong with their organisational planning. It wasn’t enough to just get the job done – they had to do it more efficiently and without looking like semi-amateurs. He knew they weren’t. Just as he knew that his father would have been ripping them all new assholes for some really sloppy work that they had carried out at times during this mission. 

Bad communication. Conflicting actions. Information not being passed around. And nobody knowing quite for sure who was the final authority in it all, or who was actually doing what and where. 

Crap. They were lucky this time, but next time….

There couldn’t be a next time. Next time could cost lives. Instead of equipment that would now have to be either replaced or repaired. Not to mention the possible security risk of Gordon deciding to show his WASP friends over Thunderbird Four.

Scott crawled into his seat in Thunderbird One, wincing as he realised that he was going to be the person cleaning the mud out of the cockpit. He saw Gordon and Alan joking around with the WASPs and all of a sudden his irritation exploded.

“Gordon! Alan! Didn’t you hear me the first time,” he growled through his communicator. “Stop arsing around and get the fuck onto Thunderbird Two. Now.”

In Thunderbird Two, Virgil stopped his system checks on the pod equipment and raised an eyebrow. Scott descending to that level of profanity where outsiders could hear was rare, and a sign that his oldest brother was extremely unhappy about something. Scott’s continued snarling at their two youngest brothers prompted him to action. “You go on, Scott. I’ll round up Alan and Gordon and follow.”

“You shouldn’t have to.” Scott knew he sounded irritated, and wished he didn’t. 

“No,” came Virgil’s calm voice. “I shouldn’t. But we both know what that pair are like when they get on a roll. Don’t worry – I won’t be more than five minutes behind you in taking off.”

Scott took a deep breath. He was losing it, and knew it. He had been doing this long enough that he should be able to keep himself under better under control. “Keep in contact Virgil. Thunderbird One out.”

“FAB.”


	5. Chapter 5

He knew what he had to do. He’d done it so many times before International Rescue that it had been second nature to him. When had he stopped? Why had he stopped?

Scott sighed and looked at the screen. He could answer both of those questions. He stopped because his father had been doing it. 

At first, he had done it after each mission. Carefully analysing every aspect of it. Looking for places where things had gone wrong – and right. Looking for improvements. 

But after a while, with his father not seemingly inclined to discuss his analysis or to take it into account, Scott had drifted away from the ingrained habit. He had, he realised, reverted to the role of child, letting his father make the decisions.

That was what Colonel Casey had been getting at. All of them had stopped being their adult selves. 

In the field, during a rescue, their professionalism was there – to a point. It had been shown today, when Gordon had broken their security protocols. Even if he did know the WASP team, they should never have been allowed onto Thunderbird Four.

He made a note that the security protocols needed to be tightened and enforced. And then another about the information sharing and communications. And another. And soon he was back in the swing of a mission analysis. 

And at the end of it Scott Tracy was even more troubled than when he started. Now he could see the problem, could see what he had overlooked.

Could clearly see what Colonel Casey had been hinting at. 

Now he needed to investigate himself. To make sure that the germ of an idea that was in his mind would work. To test the theory before blindly implementing it. 

And to check with the one person who it all hinged on. 

“Alan?”” No answer. Scott got up and wandered towards the stairs. “Oi! Al! Where are you?”

Alan’s head popped over the railing from downstairs. “Here. What do you want?”

“I need to use Thunderbird Three.”

“Why?”

“I need to go up and talk to John.”

“And you want me to take you up?”

“No – I want you to stay here and I will go up. If something happens, you need to be available to pilot Thunderbird One.”

Alan grinned. “Yes – action at last!”

“What? There’s not been a callout.” 

“There could be. And I get to be in the middle of it. Go. Have fun. And don’t forget to take a goodie bag for John. I’m off!”

“Hang on – where are you going?”

“Check out One. Gotta make sure she’s ready to go.”

“Fail big time,” Gordon said, looking up from his chess game with Brains. “Don’t worry. Virgil and I will keep him under control.”

“You know what, Gordon, that doesn’t fill me with confidence.”

“You wound me, Scott. Honestly. Checkmate.” He looked up again at his older brother. “Alan doesn’t get a lot of action on his own, Scott. And he’s young enough to be excited about it. Give him some slack.”

“And you’re so elderly.”

“Nope. But I’ve been in his situation. And spent four months in hospital as a result of not taking enough care. Don’t worry – Virgil and I will make sure nothing happens to Alan. Besides – it’s not as if you’re going to be gone for months on end.”

“No – likely up and back within 24 hours or a little longer.”

“And you’re in the perfect place to know what’s going on – and can come back in a hurry if you need.”

“Yeah. I suppose you’re right. Keep in touch, Gordon. Let me know if anything comes up.”

“Not a problem. Have fun.” He looked at Brains who was analysing their game. “Again?”

8888888888

He never would get used to flying Thunderbird Three. Still, it was important that all of their ships had more than one pilot available, which meant he was backup for Three if neither Alan nor John was available.

Still…. It didn’t have the sleek manoeuvrability of his own ship. At least in his mind.

As Scott waited for the airlock to cycle through, he made sure that he had everything he needed – and the extras that they tended to send up to John whenever somebody was heading up to Thunderbird Five. Green light… and the door didn’t open. He pressed the release button, and frowned when it showed that the locking mechanism on Three had disengaged, but that the mechanism on Five had not. 

“Thunderbird Three to Thunderbird Five. We seem to have an airlock malfunction. Can you confirm that Thunderbird Five airlock is clear?”

“It’s clear. You just need to pay the entry price.”

“What entry price?”

“The one contained in the bag at your feet.”

“Are you kidding? The bag, by the way, is on my side of the door. You want it – you open up.”

There was a pause and Scott couldn’t help but grin. “Dammit. That didn’t work like it was supposed to.”

“Your attempts at blackmail never do, John. You just don’t seem to have it in you. Now will you let me in, and you can have the bloody bag.” Even before he finished speaking the doors wooshed open and John stepped forward and snatched up the small bag, opening it and cataloguing the contents. “It’s all there. I haven’t eaten any of it.”

“I know that, but last time I came back up, Kayo managed to get to it and swapped it all for her idea of snacks. I had one packet of chips on the top that disguised the rest of it. She didn’t even leave me one beer!”

Scott pushed his brother to one side and stepped through. “Serves you right for leaving it where she could get at it. I believe that she thinks that you need additional workouts. And that you eat too much junk food.”

John looked surprised and looked down at himself. “Really?”

“Apparently. Then again, she thinks that we all eat too much junk food. And that we need additional workouts.”

“The woman is a slave driver. Are you trying to escape?”

“Nope. I need to talk to you.”

John looked at his oldest brother. “You know, there’s these things we have. Communication systems. You’d be surprised at how effective they are. You don’t have to nick Three to talk to me.”

“Idiot. No – I wanted to talk and to see what you’ve tweaked up here. It’s no secret that the last mission was a cockup.”

“I disagree.” John led the way through the airlock. “Let me put this away first. Ops room or sitting area?”

“Ops I think. If that’s were all your systems tweaks live.”

“It is. Get ready to fly then.”

8888888888888888888

“This is amazing! Does Brains know what you’ve done?”

“Yeah. I ran it by him first, and then we tested it. It works a treat.” John waved his hand through a portion of the image and the icons expanded. “Looks like Penny is on the move,” he said and with a finger swipe flagged it to monitor. “I know where you all are at any given moment. When you’re in uniform that is. Or even if you’ve got a communicator on you. It’s not as good as in uniform, or in a Thunderbird, but it’s accurate enough. Before, I needed you to check in, now, it’s all automated.”

“How long have you been doing this?”

“Since before Father disappeared. I have a lot of empty time up here, Scott. And not even I can stargaze all the time. I’ve been spending a lot of time trying to come up with ways to help you out more.”

“So that’s why you wanted the floor removed and the grav turned off in here.”

“Yup. With freefall and no floor, I can use the entire space. Which can come in handy. It means I can layer a lot of information around.”

“Father said no to it.” Scott’s voice was offhand.

“Yeah. But I decided that I knew best what I needed up here, and spoke to Brains. To be honest – Father didn’t know.” Something in John’s voice caught Scott’s ear.

“But… other than Brains…. Colonel Casey knew?” It was a hunch based on his conversation with the Colonel.

“She did. She thinks it’s a good idea. In fact, she’s utilised me more than International Rescue have. And yes, before you asked, I’ve billed them.”

“But...” Scott looked around again. “Fuck, John! The times that Virgil and I have wished to be able to get information like this during a rescue. And to think it was all here, but we didn’t know.”

There was a beeping and John went to check. “You didn’t ask,” he said as he flipped a switch. “International Rescue. No, no we don’t get cats down from trees. Even if it is a cat that has won awards in international cat shows.” He shook his head at his laughing brother. “Yes, before you ask, I do get a lot of those sorts of calls.”

“Y’know – I’m tempted to say send Alan just for fun,” Scott chortled and John’s grin went wider. 

“Oh hell yeah! But you know, Father was right about one thing. If we respond to things like that, people start to undervalue us. Although watching Alan deal with a treed cat and a neurotic owner would be funny as.”

“But not enough to send One out. You’re right. What else have you been hiding up here?”

“Apart from the scantily clad sexy female aliens? You’ve seen all of it. But, I do have some ideas of how I can help more.”

“I’d be interested to hear. And see if our ideas can gel.”

“Then come on – I’m hungry. We can talk over food.”

888888888888888

“So basically, that’s it,” Scott finished and looked around at the group of people physically and virtually present. “It took me actually going up to Five and seeing just what she was capable of to realise what the best way forward would be. Are we all agreed? I’m still standing as Commander and Field Command, but John will coordinate all of our missions. Everything goes through him and during a mission, everybody is on open comms. We can’t afford the cost if we don’t share information.”

“It sounds good, Scott,” Virgil put in. “Can I also suggest that Brains at least also be on hand during any missions. He can give us information that John can’t.”

“Absolutely. We need to work even more as a team than we ever have. Don’t keep silent. If you’ve got an idea, speak up. Don’t go off on your own.” Scott paused. “I think that’s it. Oh – except for one more thing. Security. We’ve gotten lax. Kayo – that’s your primary job. Making sure we stay secure.”

“I can do that, Scott. Hear that, Gordon? No more doing guided tours of Four for your fishy friends.” Kayo looked around at the brothers. “And let’s not forget your other training.”

“No… we can’t get slack,” Gordon said consideringly. “And we have. We got so used to Father looking after everything, that we stopped thinking properly. I think you’ve got a good plan, Scott. I agree.”

“You know you have my agreement, Scott,” came John’s nodding answer. “It will work well.”

“Yeah,” Virgil agreed. “Alan? What about you?”

“Oh I agree. I’d just like to be able to do more – you know. Get into the action some more.”

“Alan, don’t despair. I’ve been talking to Scott and Colonel Casey. I have an idea.”

Alan looked startled. “I don’t know whether to be pleased or terrified.”

“Terrified is always good,” Gordon said with a cheeky grin.


	6. Chapter 6

“This is Mike Henderson with an update on the world’s biggest undersea tunnel project. The Van Dieman tunnel, connecting the city of Melbourne on mainland Australia with Launceston on the North-West Tasmanian coastline has reached the three-quarter mark - 2 months ahead of schedule. This is a great success for everybody involved, and if the tunnel boring goes at this rate, it is anticipated that the tunnel will be ready for use within two years – one year ahead of schedule. 

“Much of the success comes from the advanced equipment used. The biggest time saver has been in having all three of the tunnels being dug at the same time. The two main traffic tunnels and the center service tunnel are being dug with some friendly rivalry between the teams. Coming behind the tunnel boring and surfacing machines are the teams preparing the electrical and infrastructure that will be beneath the surface of the tunnels. 

“I’m now going to switch you to the tunnel known as VD1 so that you can see live progress.”

Brains and Virgil were engrossed, and had pulled up schematics of the tunnels and the machines being used. “This is amazing, Brains,” Virgil said, looking through detailed information. “Dammit – as much as I wished that we could have won the bid for it, I don’t think that even your engineering genius could have come up with something as good as this.”

“I certainly would have done it differently,” Brains confirmed. “But this has been incredibly successful from all accounts.” He frowned. “I’m not entirely happy about how close they are to the top of the ocean bed there though.”

“They’ve not had any indications that they are within the danger zone though. It’s all well within tolerance in the green zone.”

“I know. I just – I suppose I’m probably being too cautious.”

“Don’t stop being cautious, Brains,” Scott said entering the living area. “Your caution averted a disaster today, that’s for sure.”

Virgil looked up. Scott’s face still bore traces of anger and he felt sorry for the people that had been on the receiving end of his ire. “Something go wrong at the South American works?”

“Just about. If it wasn’t for Brains anticipating people ignoring specifications and calculating accordingly, then you would have been likely to be out at the moment rescuing me and a number of our employees.” He snorted. “Idiots. Even I know that you have to have proper foundations before you start putting structures like that up. It was lucky I noticed the slippage and was able to get the place evacuated before it partially collapsed. The only reason it didn’t collapse sooner was Brains’ caution in his stress calculations.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Did you leave anybody intact?”

“Intact – but when I checked the plans and saw all the changes – changes that should not have been made – I made sure that those who initiated them and signed them off are now without jobs. I won’t have Tracy Industries used by our senior project people to line their own pockets with kickbacks.”

Both Brains and Virgil let out low whistles. They could both understand completely Scott’s anger. “I agree,” Virgil said. “And you know the others will. We’ll back you up if the Board tries to cause trouble.”

Scott ran his hand through his hair. “Sorry, Virgil. I guess I should have contacted you all first.”

“No – you made the decision that any of us would have. And you saved lives.” He grinned suddenly. “Both jobs done today. You deserve a treat.”

“Good. I’ll take missing on Grandma’s home cooking.”

“You’re in luck,” Brains said. “She has decided that we are all ungrateful and don’t appreciate her efforts. So she’s refusing to cook tonight and daring us to do better.”

“Hence,” Virgil put in, “Alan and Gordon currently firing up the grill for steaks. Thick juicy and not burned to a crisp steak.”

Scott sank into a chair, his face starting to clear. “I’ll take that as a treat!” He looked at the video playing. “Damn. That is going along fast.”

“Yeah. We were just discussing that.”

“You know that both AU Engineering and the Kun-Chow Corporation have contacted us about the consortium running that project.”

“Oh?” Virgil leaned forward. “And when you say “us”?”

“Tracy Industries. Thankfully. But… their reasons are a little concerning.” Scott frowned. “I thought I had sent it through to you and Brains, Virge. In fact I was sure I had.”

“I haven’t seen anything,” Brains put in. “When was it?”

Scott thought quickly. “Damn – now I remember. I got it and read it and we had that unexplained communications outage. By the time we tracked that down and fixed it, it must have slipped my mind.” He went to the desk in the room – their father’s desk, but now used by Scott when he was conducting Tracy Industries business. “Here…” He called up the e-mail and sent the information to their holographic projector. “They are the main players in the consortium for this project. They’ve been pushing everything they have to get it as far ahead as they can. And want us to become part of it now. Wanna make some guesses why?”

“The e-mail seems to be a standard invitation to participate,” Virgil said. “But knowing you, you haven’t been satisfied with just that.”

“No. I asked Derrik from our Perth office to have a look into things. He’s sent me through some very interesting reports from his contacts in the Australian engineering community. Reports that the media doesn’t get to see.”

“If you think they’re interesting, I’m interested.” Virgil said seriously. “Especially considering you’re not an engineer.”

Brains was busy looking at the reports he had downloaded to his own tablet, frowning and muttering to himself, calling up another screen to make notes.

Scott watched him, his eyes narrowing. “You don’t have to be an engineer to understand some of the things in these reports,” he said. “But looks like Brains has found something.”

“I think so. I’ll need to look further at it,” he commented absently and then looked at Virgil. “I’ll mark the spot for you. I want you to see if you agree, without my comments.”

“OK Brains. What did you notice Scott?”

“First their invitation to participate – they don’t want us as consultants, or even to provide manpower or equipment. They want money.” He pushed his hand through his hair again. “Geez, I hate dealing in consortium shit. After South America, and now with this invitation – no way are we doing it again.”

“Hang on – why do they need money?”

“I think they deliberately underquoted. Plus, they’re pushing to get it finished early. And guess what happens if they finish ahead of time?”

Virgil frowned trying to recall the original tendering document. “Bonuses of some sort I guess.”

“Bonus is an understatement.” Scott mentioned a figure that had even Brains look up in surprise. Virgil whistled. 

“Some incentive. Is that a lump sum?”

“No. I’m basing that on the amount per month they get early and based on the current estimated date of commissioning.”

“So it could increase.”

“Yeah. But they don’t get it until after the tunnel’s been commissioned. Even if they go at their current rate, they will make a hell of a profit at the end – but in the meantime…”

“They’re running out of operating funds. And I would say cutting a lot of corners as a result.”

“Well, that plus wanting that early completion bonus. That’s a bad combination.”

“And if I also mention that Belah Gatt Incorporated is a major player in this consortium – they’ve managed to provide the Project Management for the whole thing and seem to be running much of the OHS details.”

“Oh fucking hell,” Virgil said, exploding off the couch and starting to pace. “AU and Kun-Chow are good outfits. How the hell did they let Belah get involved? And how the hell did any consortium involving Belah get past the selection panel?”

“The same way Belah gets involved in anything. They insist on hiding their presence, and you now that there will always be clients who value fast and cheap over quality and safety. It’s how Belah has kept in business.” 

“Scott, I don’t think it’s even up for consideration. We don’t want to be involved in this!”

“No. We don’t. But I want us to be all over the details – as International Rescue. I have a bad feeling about this.”

“So do I,” Brains said looking up from his tablet. “Really bad. From the diagrams on the media, I thought that they were too close to the sea-bed. These seem to be confirming that.”

“Is it too close?” Virgil tried to see the diagrams. 

“No – it meets all the international guidelines for safety. But….”

“We always exceed them. By a lot. Because the minimum isn’t always the safest,” Scott put in.

“As we well know,” Virgil said dryly. “How many times have we had to rescue people from places that were to standard and from something that the “standard” was meant to withstand what happened to it.”

“Yeah. So what do you want us to do?”

“We can’t do much – nothing’s gone wrong. But I’m going to get John to put a priority monitor on it – and keep it on it indefinitely. If something happens, I want us to be able to move quickly. Brains – can you and Virgil put together something that might just have to cover both a sea and land mission at once? We might have to have Thunderbird 4 in action plus extra equipment on land.”

“Will do, Scott,” Brains said. “I can configure a POD machine in Pod 4.”

“You want me to get Gordon for a briefing?”

“Can you do that, Virge? He can work with you and Brains – he knows what he can do in Four best. I’m going to get Kayo and John onto some serious hacking. I want to know everything about what we might be up against here – especially any shortcuts they might have taken. If we have to get called into this, I don’t want any surprises with non-spec materials.”

A Week Later

“So, what have you and John found in your hacking, Kayo?”

“We don’t hack, Scott. We arrange access.”

Scott quirked an eyebrow. “You’ve been spending far too much time with John and Penny. You hack. And note I’m not complaining about it.”

Kayo looked chagrined. “Would you believe nothing more than what you got by legit means? Everything looks above board. Completely and utterly. Apart from the fact that Belah Gatt Incorporated seems to be running everything – and that there is a lot of people who aren’t happy about that. But you know that.”

“Suspected from the request I got.”

“Which prompted all this.”

“Yeah. And which now looks like a whole lot of work for a whole lot of nothing.”

“Maybe not,” came John’s voice as his hologram appeared. “Sorry I’m late – I was trying to get thorough one of the company ownership systems in Malaysia. I’ve uncovered something interesting about where this tunnel is being laid.” He called up a schematic. “This is Bass Strait, where the Van Dieman Tunnel is being dug.” He drew a line. “This is the tunnel route. It’s the closest and easiest route between Melbourne and Launceston. Which means that it’s also been used for other things.” Another swipe. “Like the main oil and gas lines between mainland Australia and Tasmania.”

Scott stood up. “Shit! What idiot approved that route for a tunnel!”

“Panicing, Scott?”

“No, John. Just frustrated about what some people will do.”

“It’s all right, John,” Kayo put in. “He’s still ranting about South America.”

“You have my sympathies. You could always come up here to escape.”

“Oh ha ha ha,” Scott said. “You don’t have to deal with the fallout.”

“No, we just have to deal with you dealing with it. Anyway, about this tunnel. It’s in a bad place.”

“And we haven’t been able to find any proof that corners have been cut. And not even Lady Penelope’s contacts can trace back any wrongdoing of the consortium involved.”

“So I only have my gut feeling to go on.”

“Hang onto that gut feeling, Scott,” John said seriously. “You know that’s sometimes all we have to go on”

“I know. I don’t have to like it though.”


	7. Chapter 7

It was supposed to be his down time. The one week in five that John Tracy spent at home. He had enjoyed himself, loving being part of the tumble of his family, but as usual, towards the end of the seven days, found himself longing for his solitude again.

But this week in particular he had found it hard to step away. In fact, if it wasn't for Scott ordering it, he would have skipped coming down this week.

Because today was the one year anniversary of the day he had failed.

He had spent most of the week checking and rechecking his search patterns, using the mainframe housed on the Island to re-set parameters. Admittedly, some of it was work he would have done anyway. Part of his week on Earth was always spent doing complete diagnostic tests of Thunderbird 5 and setting up any upgrades or patching that needed to be done on the systems.

But this time….

One by one, his brothers had sought him out, forcing him to take part in the day to day of life. In some ways he was thankful – it was stopping him from obsessing.

Now, he stood on the verandah on the upper level that joined all the sleeping areas, and led downstairs. His eyes were focussed in the far distance, almost willing a visual display to pop up before him, the proverbial "X" marking the spot that he and his brothers had tried so hard to find.

"John?" He turned his head.

"Hi Kayo. Is it your turn to hunt me down?"

"No. You didn't turn up for your training session. I want to know why."

"Sorry Kayo. I just don't feel like it." He braced himself for what he knew was to come. He was surprised, however, when he felt her hand on his shoulder and he turned to look at her.

"Nobody does today," she said, her own eyes sad. "Everybody's been off doing their own thing today. All of us blaming ourselves for what happened."

"Yes, but I'm the one who has all the information. All the tracking information. I let everybody down. Let Father down." There. It was out. "Twelve months, Kayo! A whole year, and nothing. Not one scrap of debris. Not one ping of a beacon. It's as if Father vanished from the face of the earth."

"We've all been blaming ourselves. Looking at our own specialities and decided that it was that aspect that failed." She brushed away a tear angrily. "The most important thing is that we haven't stopped looking. And we won't stop looking."

"I know. Some part of me says that I did all I could. That there is something outside my influence that happened, and that has hidden all the clues and evidence."

"Yes. Somehow, I know that The Hood is responsible. What we have to do now is find where he has your father and rescue him." John turned in surprise. Kayo sounded so miserable. He was surprised to see tears flowing freely, and that she was hunched into herself.

"Kayo! You've told me not to blame myself. Now I'm telling you the same thing." He searched her face and wondered at what he saw there. Something was wrong. Really wrong with her. "Tanusha? Sweetie? What's wrong?"

To herself she cursed. Of all the Tracy's, John had always been the one she never could hide anything from. She shook her head. "Just… today. Memories. Guilt. All sorts of things." She saw the sceptical look flash across his eyes. The lies. She hated that the most.

"Hug?" Surprised, she looked up again. John was smiling at her, arms outstretched, and, as she had done ever since she had become part of the family, she nodded and joined with him in a fierce hug.

After a few minutes she stepped back and was surprised at his reluctance to let go – normally John always broke off any physical contact with other people first. She changed her mind and stepped forward again, tightening her arms around him. John must have needed a hug as badly as she did.

This time, he loosened his arms first, but kept her tucked into his side. "Feel better?"

"Yes. You?"

"Yes. Dunno why, Kayo, but you can always hug the nasties out of me."

"Good. Now you can come down for your session. Your arse is getting flabby."

"My ass is so not flabby! It's as finely toned as the rest of me." He suddenly looked confused, blushed and stepped away from her. "I need to…." His head snapped up as a beeping sounded. "Work."

He bounded toward the stairs, and elected to slide down the banister rather than try to take the stairs and erupted into the main living area as his other brothers did. Alan appeared, looking concerned.

"There's been an explosion in the Bass Strait," Alan reported. "We've not been contacted, but I'm calling it in to monitor it."

"What happened Alan?" Scott's voice was terse, but not worried sounding.

"Tanker. There was some sort of engine malfunction and one of the engines exploded. It's happened near the oil and gas pipeline, so it's something we want to keep an eye on.   
The local people are coping with the tanker, and the crew all got off safely with only minor injuries."

"The biggest danger will be debris," Brains put in. "If any debris ruptures that pipeline, we could have a real problem."

"I haven't seen any reports of that," Alan said.

"Yeah, but they may not have noticed," John put in. "Alan, can you call up an underwater vision?"

"I tried, but something seemed to be blocking it. The command came back as disallowed. I saved the message – here."

"Dammit. OK – sounds like that particular satellite has had its security strengthened again. I'll have to re-crack it from up there." John looked annoyed. "Why the hell can't they just leave my doors in place. I always leave a message saying who it is."

He stood to start to gather together his gear. "You know, John," Virgil said laughing slightly "Most people don't want anybody hacking into their systems."

"I do not hack. I gain entry to systems we need to access. And I'm not just anybody. And I always let them know how I got in. Besides….Alan – I'm leaving in half an hour."

"FAB John. I'll be waiting for you." John was still frowning though as he looked at the message. "Blast. He definitely shouldn't get that message."

"Why?"

"Because it means that something he did gave them access to our system. And that definitely shouldn't have happened."

"I might tag along if I may," Kayo said firmly. "If we have a security problem on Thunderbird 5, I need to know."

"I need Alan back straight away, Kayo," Scot said. "If that pipeline blows, we're going to need all hands on deck to deal with it."

"Then I'll just stay up there until you can bring me down again. I really don't like the sound of anybody being able to hack into our systems."

"John?" Scott looked at his brother who looked surprised and Scott sighed. "Can you deal with Kayo being on Five for a couple of days?"

"What? Why?"

"To look into how that satellite managed to gain access to our systems." Scott sounded extremely patient, knowing that John had completely missed the discussion after he had said his piece. 

"Oh." John blinked. "I could use another pair of hands to upload the patches and upgrades anyway."

"I'll take that as a yes," Kayo said dryly.  
________________________________________

"Base, this is Thunderbird 5."

"Nice to hear your voice, John." Scott was amused - he and Virgil had bet on whether John would actually remember to let them know he had arrived safely.

"Just letting you know Kayo and I got here OK and Alan is on his way back. Kayo, however is not a happy woman."

"Found your stash?"

"Among other things. Keep this line open, will you. I need the broader link than I have thorugh a data only line."

"Will do, John, even though I have no idea what you are talking about. Keep me updated. Especially on that pipeline."

"Don't worry – Alan already has that as a priority monitor. And we're making headway in getting back into the satellite. They've really beefed up security on it."

"You could just ask for access."

"Tried that on the way up. And got a very definite no. Almost a rude no actually."

"Right. Send me all the details of the satellite – I want to make sure we've got a record if it all so that we can cover our asses. Government satellites aren't usually that heavily secured – especially the scientific ones we use."

"Yeah… about that…." Scott groaned and the problem finally made itself clear.

"Is this one of those things where covering our asses would cause more problems?"

"Maybe."

"Let's do it anyway. We can always call on Colonel Casey if we need backup."

"Information on its way. I need to go – this is delicate work."


	8. Chapter 8

They couldn’t just do nothing, so the Tracy brothers went about their lives. Twelve months their father had been missing, and they all felt it as much as they had the day it happened.

But they were finding some things easier – Scott had stopped asking himself “what would Father do” each time he had to make a decision regarding either International Rescue or in concert with his brothers for Tracy Industries. 

He was understandably proud of some of their decisions. Several new projects had been initiated that, whilst smaller than they normally handled, had given extremely valuable results and had not only made a lot of money for Tracy Industries, but had also assisted emergency services organisations to more efficiently do their work. 

He knew that his Father would have been very proud of that.

He was also deeply satisfied that their revised structure for International Rescue was working as well as it did. His brothers and he had slipped into their roles so easily because they were all playing to their strengths. 

Scott flipped through the mission reports, making a note of things that went wrong, or that needed tightening, gratified that these had become less and less in the last six months. 

Yeah – another thing Dad would have been proud of. International Rescue was going from strength to strength. Their reputation was stronger than it ever had been, and they were being asked – and paid! – to consult in a number of safety matters in large international projects. 

He called up another document and sat back. It was his own personal project. International Rescue developing rescue training courses. Unfortunately, it wasn’t something the five of them could do alone. Regretfully he put it in the “future plans” folder. 

Maybe... maybe after Father was found, it was something that they could look further into. 

His eyes strayed to a picture on the desk. His parents on their wedding day. Scott found himself looking at that picture every time he used his father’s desk. They were both younger than he could ever remember them looking, but in every essence, they were the parents that he knew and loved deeply. And missed every day. 

He considered himself lucky that he could remember his mother as well as he did, she was still very sharp in his own memory, unlike Alan who had no memory of her other than one of absolute love. 

But then, that absolute love was what defined Mom. 

His eyes then moved to the other picture, of the six Tracy men in International Rescue uniform. Brains had taken it for them and you could see the pride shining out of Father, his greying hair being the only indication that he was their father, and not the same generation as the other five. 

Yes, he may not have worn his International Rescue uniform every day, but he did have one, and wore it when he had to be Colonel Tracy, Commander of International Rescue in public. All of his communications with the various Governments of Earth were in that Uniform, and Scott made sure that he continued the tradition. It had taken him a while to understand, but it had finally been brought home when he had tried to deal with a Government wearing his own clothes. Not even calling on all his “command tone” from his days as Major Tracy had helped in that situation, and he had been forced to rely on the influence of Lady Penelope and their other influential friends to get what was needed done. 

He had, he reflected, finally grown up again. When he had come to work with Father in International Rescue, like his brothers, he had reverted to his childhood almost, allowing Father to take control.

And now, he felt like his own man again. Or rather, an adult. He also knew that his brothers felt the same – even Alan who was being dragged kicking and screaming into adulthood.

His reflections were interrupted by Virgil, Gordon and Alan entering the room. “Well, we’re about as prepared as we can be for when that thing blows,” Virgil said solemnly. “What’s the situation?”

“Still nothing. We may have gotten lucky for once,” Scott said, and Alan snorted.

“Yeah. Right. Fingers crossed on that one,” he said flopping onto a couch.

“It’s been 48 hours. We may just be lucky,” Gordon said. “Usually damage is done well before that.”

The beeping of an incoming communication sounded and all four grimaced. “Base here, Thunderbird 5. Go ahead.”

“Suit up guys. The call just came in. That pipeline has just exploded – and in a big way. The team on the ground think that there was debris that punctured it, but then got stuck and the pressure just built up until… kaboom.”

“John? You look a little… dishevelled.” Gordon looked at him through narrowed eyes. 

“I was in the shower when the call came in.”

“And Kayo was?”

“Handling it until I got there. What do you think? Why are you still there?”

Scott stood up. “We’re on our way, John. Let them know our ETA.” He looked at his brothers. “Thunderbirds are go!”

8888888888

Deep under the Bass Strait, the operator of the tunnel boring machine (TBM) looked around as the sound of rumbling came over the noise of the equipment, and the area around him shook. “Not good,” he muttered. “Far too much of that happening. OI! Bob!” he called back to his mate a few meters behind. “Has anybody reported back to Base about these shakes?”

“Yeah, mate. Reported it a few hours back. They said there is a problem with a pipeline but it’s a few k’s away and shouldn’t affect us.”  
“Better bloody not! Still – might be worth reporting each time we feel one. Cover our own arses at least if it makes us slow down.”

“No problems. I’ll log them all.”

“Good-oh!” He turned back to his bank of monitors, making minute adjustments according to the type of rock they were hitting. Tunnel VD3 was proceeding as planned. Slightly above and to the right of VD2 and VD1, it would provide access from the Australian mainland to Tasmania. VD2 and VD1 were slightly behind it as they had hit some trickier rock, but no matter. They were all well ahead of schedule.

Suddenly he looked up again as a drop of water fell on his screen. And another. And a third. “What the…” His eyes raised to the ceiling and he saw drops become a slow trickle. “Bob… mate… I think Base should have listened to you about the tremors.”

Bob hurried forward and looked up as well. “Oh shit, mate… Shut that thing down Rick!”

Rick moved swiftly to shut down the TBM and slid out from behind his console. “Time to get out, ya reckon?”

“Yeah. That crack…. Rick, let’s run, not walk.”

“Last one to the transport and out buys the beers.”

A sprint bought them to the transport that Bob had been driving and they dived in, Bob working to swiftly turn it whilst Rick grabbed the radio. “VD3 TBM to Base! Come in Base!”

“Base here”

“Base, we’ve got a huge problem. There’s a large crack forming in the ceiling in our location – letting in seawater.” He picked up a camera and aimed it at the crack, tightening the focus. “We’re coming out. I think we need to check it all out before we go further.”

“Logged. I’ll alert the finishing crew behind you to leave as well.”

“Good idea Base.”

The transport began to trundle along the track it had laid behind itself, picking up speed when a long, low, threatening rumble sounded. Lights in the tunnel flickered and died as the roof caved in behind them with a sudden woosh, water trickling in through the tightly packed rocks. “Base! Base this is VD3 TBM…. We’ve had a roof collapse behind us! The TBM is buried!”

“Have you got water?”

“Not in with us yet… But I reckon that it won’t be long until the entire tunnel is flooded. Everybody needs to get out – and I reckon get them out of the other tunnels as well.”

‘Roger that, VD3 TBM. Get out as fast as you can.”

“Believe me, Base, if we could go faster we would! Bob! Now’s the time to be a leadfoot, mate!”  
“Bloody oath, Mate! Fuck!!!” 

Both men suddenly hit the ground of the transport as the roof before them caved in, 

“Base,” yelled Rick, “The tunnel! It’s collapsing completely! We’re trapped!”

“Is your GPS working? Can you send up your location?”

Bob flicked a switch. “Still working, Rick. I’m sending them a ping.”

“Ya hear that, Base? We were heading for the main transport to get out, but we didn’t get anywhere near it…. Oh god… Base…. The main transport….”

“We’re trying to raise them now, Rick. But… I don’t think….” 

“We’re fucked.”

“International Rescue is on its way to deal with the pipeline problem – it’s blown. We’ll contact them. They’ll be able to help you! Hang in there!”

“Yeah, but what about the poor buggers in the finishing crew?”

888888888888888

“Calling International Rescue… This is the Van Diemen Tunnel project calling International Rescue!”

John’s eyes narrowed as he heard the call. Their worst nightmare scenario in this little drama was being played out it would seem. “This is International Rescue.”

“Thank god… The Van Diemen tunnel! Tunnel VD3 is collapsing! We’ve…” The caller paused and John could hear the sudden gulp of breath. “We’ve lost a team when the roof collapsed between the TBM and the finishing crew.”

“Trapped?”

“No… they’re gone. The finishing crew… all of them...” The man’s voice had a sob in it, and John opened his mouth to say the words that he had hoped he never would have to say.

“I’m sorry. In that case, there’s nothing we can do for them.”

“Not them… but the TBM crew! They’re trapped behind the collapse – between it and the TBM!”

“How many?” Platitudes could wait. This was something that they could help with. 

“Two.”

“Do you have contact with them?”

“Yes, though I don’t know for how long for. I don’t know if there is water or not.”

“We’re on our way. Keep this line open for communications.” John closed his eyes, sending a quick prayer to his mother for help, and quickly switched a call to his Brothers. “Thunderbird 5 to Base! Is anybody still there?”

“Virgil here – we’re just about to board. What’s wrong?”

“Thank god! We’ve got a situation!”

“Another one?”

“Same one – but bigger.” John quickly outlined the situation. Gordon’s picture popped up. “Tell Scott we’re going to be delayed in getting there. I may need some specialist equipment for this – we didn’t count on people.”

“Hurry Gordon!”

Gordon shuddered as he thought of the crew that had been lost. “Guaranteed to, John. It’s a hell of a way to die.”


	9. Chapter 9

Scott ran a worried hand through his hair and tried to push Thunderbird 1 to even faster speeds. “Fuck in a handbasket, John. I… Oh crap. Right… Tell them my ETA is 10 minutes. Faster if I can. Can you find a schematic of the tunnel – where those guys are trapped?”

“On it. I’ve had their GPS signal relayed to me and I’ve found them. And I’ve got an idea about the pipeline.”

“I’ll take anything at this stage.”

“We’ll need to ask Colonel Casey for help with it though.”

“Do it. And get an ETA on Thunderbird Two. I want everything to be ready to go as soon as they arrive”

“Scott, Virgil knows what he’s doing.”

“I know John. But… dammit. They’ve lost a crew already. We have to get those two men out!”

“We will. It’s what we do. Here’s Virgil on the line…. Go ahead Thunderbird Two.”

“Our ETA at site is 30 minutes. I’m pushing her as fast as I can, John.”

‘I understand Virgil. I’ll let Scott know. He should be landing about now. Keep in contact Thunderbird Two. I need to contact Colonel Casey to help with the pipeline.”

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“That the situation Colonel,” John finished. “We have the equipment to fix it, but not the manpower – not with the tunnel collapse as well.”

“I understand, John. The problem is, I don’t have the manpower in the area either, and it would take at least 10 hours to get a WASP crew there. However, I may be able to help you in another way. Why haven’t they just shut off the pipeline flow?”

“It’s a dual pipeline, Brains says. If we shut off the flow, it will cause pressure to build up in the other part of the pipeline and cause a double explosion. We’d need to shut off both valves at the input end. Which raises another problem. We don’t know which end that is. The pipeline has been in place a long time, and on both ends it’s buried underground and continues underground. Nobody seems quite sure where it comes out. In Tasmania, there doesn’t seem to be an outlet that anybody can locate for sure, and in Victoria, there are about ten different places that they can pinpoint, without looking even deeper. It’s a complete mess.”

“That’s where I may be able to help you. I know that there was a survey done of undersea gas pipelines by the military. Let me search and see what I can find for you.”

“We’d appreciate that. Thunderbird Five out.”

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Scott was frowning as he looked at the map projected in front of him. “This is totally different to what information we have.”

“Yes. We update it every couple of hours. The TBM’s are constantly having to make corrections due to the rock formations they encounter, and because we are always updating it, it’s not worth uploading it.”

“Which means that we’ve been scanning for your people in the wrong area completely.” Scott’s tone was testy – he hated wasting time. “It needs to be uploaded now – so that our systems can match.”

“But the file… it will take an hour to do!”

Scott’s head jerked up as he heard an engine. “Thunderbird 2…. Thunderbirds Two from Thunderbird One.”

“Thunderbird Two here.”

“I need Gordon at control. We have a problem that is going to affect him.”

“FAB Thunderbird One. He’s on his way.”

“Thunderbird Five – do you copy?”

“Yes. I heard your conversation. Is there a way to put the updated map on a drive that we can insert into Thunderbird Four? I can’t access this system as it’s not networked anywhere.”

Scott looked at the Engineer he was talking to as Gordon ran into the room. “What’s the problem?”

“The maps online haven’t been updated – we’ve been looking at an inaccurate path. John’s suggested that we save a copy to a drive and manually load it into Four. What do you think?”

“It’ll work. I’ve got a removable drive in Four that we can use.”

“Good,” put in John. “Once you have it in Four, I can access it and integrate it into the schemas we already have. It’ll take about fifteen minutes to do though.”

Gordon was already sprinting out of the room. “John, did Colonel Casey send you the information she told me she had?”

“Yes. I’m running an analysis of it now. It’s really old code though, and it’s not cracking easily. I’m doing my best.”

“All I can ask, Thunderbird Five. Keep trying.”

“Here,” Gordon panted holding out a slim drive. “Use this. I can start it loading into Four and can get going while John plays with it.” He plugged it into the computer and the holomap vanished as the file as copied. 

“Hurry up….” Scott muttered.

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“Rick? You still with me?” Bob looked over to where his mate sat on the other side of the transport. They daren’t get out – water was flowing into their small section of tunnel.

“Yeah, mate. I’m here. Shall we try the radio again?”

“Can’t hurt. VD3 TMB to base. Come in Base.” Static and then a small burst of clear sound.

“TBM VD3! We hear …….”

“Dammit. I wish I knew what was causing that.”

“Probably the collapse. The repeater’s probably been washed away – damaged at best. But at least they know we’re alive.”

“But for how long, mate. For how long?”


	10. Chapter 10

“John, that’s not what I wanted to see.” Gordon was frowning as he looked at the tunnel schematics against the seabed.

“It’s not good, certainly. How does this change things for you?”

“That tunnel is too close to that pipeline. We are going to have to deal with the leak otherwise we risk an explosion that could drop it on us. I’m going to have to inspect that pipeline.”

“I’ll let Scott know. What about getting to them from above?”

“I wouldn’t want to, but let me check. If it’s fastest and easiest for me to get in and out with breathing gear for them, then that’s the way to go. Otherwise, we’ll need a plan B.”

“Virgil?”

“Yeah. This sort of thing is right up his alley. How are you going with finding the outlets for that pipeline?”

“I’m not. Everything I try hits a dead end. I’ve got Kayo trying to find some more info in some of the unusual places.”

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Alan Tracy felt more than a little useless on this mission. He knew he’d been brought as a “just in case” – just like Pod 4 had extra stuff crammed into it. All “just in case”. 

As a result, Two had flown more clumsily than normal, and he admired Virgil’s skill in flying the huge green craft even more as he babied her on the trip to Melbourne. 

This whole damn mission seemed to have lots of “just in case” about it. He hated those. It always seemed that the “just in case” inevitably happened. And they were in the middle of it. Trying to pull everybody’s asses out of whatever disaster happened. 

He’d followed Virgil out of Thunderbid Two when Gordon had sent him the additional information and asked for help. Not that Alan could help. But he couldn’t bear sitting alone. Waiting. 

Scott, standing at the Mobile Control console had what he and Gordon called his “stretched” face. The one where he seemed to be juggling chainsaws and kittens at the same time. Where you knew he was analysing all the information from the readouts in front of him, ready to consult with John at any moment. To direct what had to happen next. To decide how best to use their resources. 

Fucked if Alan knew how he managed it.

Virgil was at the other side of the room, maps projected on the display, in consultation with other engineers. He was in his element. People always tended to see this particular older brother as the brawn rather than brains. Degrees in Civil and Mechanical Engineering, a Masters in Engineering and working towards a Doctorate told another story. 

“Scott?”

“Hmmm?”

“What do you need me to do?” Alan could see Scott pull himself back from his immersion in whatever he had been analysing.

Scott blinked at Alan’s question. He had almost forgotten he was there. “Until Virgil and Gordon have finished, there’s not a lot you and I can do, All… Alan.” Scott caught himself. It was hard to stop using the affectionate shortening of Alan’s name, but they had all been trying. At least when on a mission. 

Restless, Alan wandered over to where Virgil was working and idly traced some lines on the map. “What are these here?”

“The other two tunnels,” Virgil answered absently. 

“Three tunnels?”

Virgil looked up. “Haven’t you been listening to anything we’ve been talking about all these months?”

Alan gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Not an engineering nerd, Virge. So why three?”

“It’s easier to dig three than one big one. One going each way, and a third in the centre as an….” His voice trailed off. “For the love of… Stupid, stupid, stupid!” He started to move quickly and Alan shrank back.

“I’m sorry, Virgil. I didn’t mean…”

“Not you, Alan. Me. I’m stupid. So busy looking, I didn’t see.”

“And that makes sense.”

“Don’t worry little brother. We’re about to see some action. Scott! John – get Gordon online!”

“Virgil?”

“Gordon’s coming online now. And I’ve got some news from Kayo about that pipeline.”

“About the pipeline,” Gordon’s image flickered and appeared. “It’s fixable. It’s actually a fissure, not a hole, so a fairly simple weld job will fix it. I’ve got equipment in the pod that will do the job.”

“So it’s not that which caused the cave in?”

“Not as far as I can see. I’ve found where the collapses happened. They are close to the pipeline, but not near the fissure. It actually looks like the sea-bed was breached. I’d say in one area, it came close, and it was just a matter of time. In the main collapse, the top of the machine is visible. The collapses are pretty solid though.”

“Gordon… did you go out and have a look?” Scott’s voice had a warning in it.

“How else did you expect me to validate? I know what I’m doing Scott. Remember – I’ve had plenty of experience doing this before.” He paused. “I still wouldn’t try to come in from the top to get them out though. I can’t see where there’s a lot of water that would be getting through – seepage, but nothing showing lots. So it should be fairly dry in the chamber.”

“That brings it to me,” Virgil said. “Actually, Alan noticed it first.” He brought up the schematics. “There are three tunnels. Separate, but designed to connect at certain points. So they aren’t that far apart.” A wave of his hand enhanced part of the picture.

“This shows VD3 and where the collapse is.” He drew a big red “X”. “Here’s the chamber. From what Gordon said, that should be fairly dry. Even if there is water, it should be ok. Here,” and he motioned to another line, “is VD2 – the central tunnel which will be used as an emergency tunnel when needed. 

“We know it’s not collapsed at all. There are still cameras working through it. What I propose is that we rig the Mole and take it down that tunnel, with a small transport vehicle. The mole can then tunnel up through to VD3 and come in at the side of it – above where any water would be. We can extract the trapped workers from there, put them in the transport and come out again.”

Scott was nodding. “Good work, Virgil and Gordon. Let’s get moving. Alan, go with Virgil and help him and Gordon get everything together. John, what about that pipeline?”

“Well, for one thing Kayo found that officially it doesn’t actually exist.”

“How can that be?”

“It’s been run illegally by the looks of it. That’s why nobody seems to have any records of it, and why we can’t find any outlets.”

“So should Gordon fix it?”

“That’s a yes, Scott,” came Gordon’s voice firmly. “It’s not a biggie now, but it won’t take much for it to get worse. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a legal pipeline or not – we don’t want it to explode. Apart from the danger, the environmental fallout would be immense.”

Scott couldn’t help but smile at Gordon running true to form with his concerns. “John?”  
“I agree with Gordon. I can send the information to Colonel Casey and we can leave it in her hands to deal with the pipeline. But we can’t leave it even a small fissure – the gas is escaping and I can see from my scans it’s having an effect in the area already.”

“That settles it. Gordon, go ahead with what you have to do. Virgil – are you listening?”

“Go ahead Scott.”

“You and I are going down. Alan, I want you to coordinate with Gordon from up here.”

“Actually, Scott, I could use Alan in Four with me. I’m going to need another set of hands.”

Scott took a deep breath. “FAB Gordon. Alan, get ready to go diving. Gordon will double check your equipment when he gets in. John, I need you to keep an eye on both teams. Gordon should be OK, but you’re going to have to keep a close eye on Virgil and me to make sure that we don’t drift off course.”

“Already setting it up, Scott.”


	11. Chapter 11

For Alan, the clue to how seriously Gordon viewed this repair was in his demeanour as they prepared the equipment needed to do it. And the fact that Gordon was currently treating Alan as “equipment”. 

Alan sighed and rolled his eyes as Gordon made him go over – for the fourth time – the procedure for the underwater welding repair to the pipeline. And if that wasn’t enough, he made him go through the safety procedures for the dry-suit Alan was currently wearing instead of his normal uniform, and checking again the filters in the breathing apparatus. 

“Are you satisfied now, Scott,” Alan asked sarcastically, slightly irritated that his partner-in-crime was channelling their oldest brother instead of his normal laid back attitude.

Gordon blinked and shook his head. “This is serious, Alan,” he said. “You’ve never had to do this sort of underwater welding before. One wrong move and kaboom.” A glimpse of his usual humour showed. “And if you think I’m gunna be the one explain to Scott why you got kaboomed, you’ve got another think coming.” 

A scowl appeared on his face. “Illegal pipeline. Damn, I hope that Kayo and John can trace who put it there. I wanna have a little chat to them about the damage their under-maintained, dangerous shit is causing.”

“I don’t think they’ll really care about your views on the environment Gords.”

“I wasn’t planning on talking to them, Alan.” Gordon’s voice was fierce and once again Alan was reminded that, like their oldest brother, his immediate elder brother had been military, with a background that screamed “don’t fuck with me”.

“Chill, bro. We have big brothers to show up.”

Gordon suddenly grinned his usual cheeky grin. “Damn straight about that one. I intend to be done, back and with time to go into that main street hamburger place for a decent feed.” The two brothers high-fived, totally in agreement about their plans. “Let’s get going then. I also want to be securely under water before Scott has a chance to impart the words of wisdom he’s desperately wanting to.”

“Well, at least he doesn’t hassle us any more about clean underwear and handkerchiefs,” Alan put in as they strapped themselves into Thunderbird Four. Gordon gave a shudder as he re-launched out of the Pod.

“Word of warning then – never, never ever have a sneezing fit where he can hear you.”

“Really?”

“On a mission. Dust. I sneezed several times. He asked. Virgil and John just howled with laughter.”

“Unfeeling bastards.”

“A pox upon older brothers.”

“I can hear you, you know,” came John’s voice and his image flickered into being. “And you should be thankful it’s only me. Scott’s asked me to tell you to go on open comms.”

“Doesn’t he trust us?” Alan opened his eyes wide.

“Alan, he knows you.”

“Fair call. Doesn’t explain why.”

John closed his eyes and sighed. “The short answer is – because he’s the Commander of International Rescue and that’s what he wants.”

“And the long answer?” Gordon looked amused. He couldn’t tell whether John’s expression was for them or Scott.

“Because you know Scott, and if one of his chicks is out of contact with him on a mission for any period of time, he goes batshit insane with worry. Virgil suggested it because he wants to stop a Scott implosion and the only reason he hasn’t gagged him is because the media has turned up and we wouldn’t look very professional with our Field Commander wearing a ball gag.”

“Where was Virgil going to get a ball gag?” Alan was agog. He and Gordon had speculated that Virgil could produce just about anything from Two, but a ball gag was something that hadn’t even entered the realms of their airiest speculations.

“I don’t know, Alan.” John’s voice had that exaggerated patience that went back to the years of Alan and Gordon responding to everything their two oldest brothers said with “But why?”. “Why don’t you ask him.”

“I will!”

“Not now you idiots. For all of our sanity, please go on open comms – and remember that you’re on open. Also remember – I can see and hear everything anyway.”

“Yeah, but you won’t give us away.”

888888888888888888888888

“Why haven’t they gone on open comms yet?”

Virgil grunted and manhandled a section of the Mole into place, swiftly ensuring it was securely fastened. One of the problems with having to squeeze one pod into doing two jobs was the loss of automation. “Dunno,” he answered shortly. “But you wanna give me a hand here? Or are you afraid it’ll ruin your manicure?”

“What?”

Virgil sighed. That ball gag was looking better and better. “Our job, Scott. Remember – we’re not here babysitting the terrible two, we’ve got to get that crew out.”

“I know that. It’s just that we’ve never let Gordon or Alan off the leash on a mission before.” The huge blue eyes were darkened with worry and Virgil could swear he could see grey hairs forming. 

“Look, even if we can’t hear or see them, you know John can. And he’d not let them get into trouble. Besides, Gordon’s the best of us for this job. And you or I would have difficulty fitting into Four with him. They’re both good on a mission. They’ll do what they have to. Plus they’ll come on open soon. Even if John has to do an override.”

“I still worry.” Scott shoved a coupling into place and locked it down. “What if something happens to them?”

“Then we go and fish them out. Though I reckon there’s more a chance of them having to fish us out than the other way around. And when it comes to underwater rescues, Gordon is the master.”

“Hang on Virgil. I’ve got that bit if you can hold it steady. So you think we’re going to have some problems too.” There. He’d voiced it.

“I hope not, and I’m going to keep praying to any deity that listens that we don’t. But we’re going to be in a world of trouble if we puncture the sea-bed.”

“Then let’s make sure we don’t do that. I wonder what’s taking them so long to go open.”

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“International Rescue calling VDM3 TBM” John paused, waiting for a response and then repeated his call. They had to answer. Had to – otherwise his own systems wouldn’t be able to pinpoint their location and he wouldn’t be able to guide Virgil and Scott to the closest location in VDM2 to cross over. 

A crackle came over his link and John adjusted it carefully. “International Rescue? Is that really you?”

“It is. We’ve got a team about to come and get you out. I need you to keep this channel open until we’ve gotten you. I can then keep a check on you, and also use it to pinpoint your location. Can you tell me what’s the situation there? One of our pilots has checked the subsidence from the outside and he can’t see much showing that there is a lot of water going in.”

“There was at first, but it looks like the falls have settled and the water’s been steady at about two feet.” There was a pause. “Doesn’t make it any more pleasant for us though.”

“Hang in there. Our team is not far away. Especially now I can pinpoint exactly where you are.”

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“OK, bring it over here, Alan,” Gordon said, “and we’ll place it over the fissure.”

“That’s not as easy as it sounds,” Alan said. “I thought it should be easier to move stuff underwater. You know – the less gravity.”

“It’s called buoyancy, Al. And it is, but not when we’re manhandling something like this.” He strained and shoved at the large section of metal. “Nearly there…”

A grey figure flashed past, and Alan started, catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye. “Gordon? Are there sharks in the Bass Strait?”

Gordon checked that the metal section would cover all of the fissure. “Yeah,” he said absently. “Great whites. Grey nurse. Heaps. Why?”

“I think I saw one.”

“Doubt it. Hold this.”

“Why?”

“Because if you don’t hold it it will fall.”

“Not that.” Alan held the piece in place. “Sharks. Oh shit! I think I saw it again.”

Gordon looked up and laughed. “That’s a dolphin you idiot. Now concentrate on what we’re doing. The dolphins will keep any sharks away.”

“Yeah. You hope,” muttered Alan but turned his attention to their work. 

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“OK – ready to go. Scott, make sure you keep that transport back, but not too far back.”

“I know what I’m doing, Virgil. I don’t want to be accidentally fried. John…. Have you got the location pinpointed?”

“I have. And I’m transmitting it to you. Brains is also calculating the angles you’ll need to tunnel to get from one to the other when you arrive.”

“Good,” Virgil put in. “Transmit them direct to the Mole’s systems when you get them.”

“FAB. And good luck.”

“Well, at least we won’t be worried by sharks,” Scott put in, grinning. 

“We heard that.”

“Good. It means you’re still on Open.”

“Worry about your own mission, Scott,” Gordon said testily. “And leave me to mine. I know what I’m doing here.”

“I know you do, Gordon. But you know the rules. When we’re separated on a mission, we all keep on Open.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Open comms. Got it. Welding here.”

“I suppose that made sense,” Virgil said.

‘In Gordon-speak it did. Let’s move out, Virge.”

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John flipped between his readouts. He had four up at the moment, plus the general monitoring, even though there was nothing else International Rescue could do if another call came in. He frowned and looked closer at a symbol. That was strange. 

“Thunderbird Five to Thunderbird Four. Are you reading me.”

“Reading, Five. What’s up?”

“I’ve just got a quake reading near you. You feel anything?”

Gordon stopped his work and looked around. The dolphins were still frolicking. His own instruments hadn’t showed anything. “No. Nothing here. Could you be picking up some settling of the seabed following the cave ins?”

“That could be it,” John conceded. “Just… let me know if you feel anything strange.”

“FAB. We should be finished in a few minutes anyway. Hey!! What the!”

“Gordon! Gordon? What’s happening?”

“Really guys? Like now?”

“Gordon?”

“Sorry John. The dolphin pod wants to play and don’t understand I have to finish this first.”

John chuckled. “Another pod of fans?”

“Well, dolphins do have a keen sense of intelligence and obviously know quality when they see it. Really, guys. Cut it out. When I’m finished, we’ll go topside and I can play with you all you want. John? Go bug Scott and Virgil. Let me get this finished.”

“Have fun Gordon. Alan?”

“What?”

“Don’t encourage the dolphins.”  
John was still smiling when he shunted the connection to one side and turned to his other two brothers. “VDM3 TBM Crew, this is International Rescue. Our team is three quarters of the way to your location. Not long now guys. Another half hour or so and you’ll be on your way to the surface. How are you going?”

“More than ready to get out of here, mate. A cold beer is starting to sound really good about now.”

“I’ll arrange to have one ready and waiting at the other end, guys.”

“Thanks, mate.”

“J.John?”

“Yes, Brains?”

“I have the information that Scott and Virgil need, but I can’t get through to them.”

“I know. For some reason there’s something interfering with the radios. I can get through OK, but their communications with each other are problematical. I’ve got the systems investigating.”

“I.I’ll get something tracking here too. And see what I can work out.”

“Thanks Brains. Now that information?”

“Uploading to you now.”

“Thanks. Got them and will transmit. Five out.”

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“Right… Marking access points,” Virgil said and projected the lasers on the wall in front of them. “Should only be about 10 minutes to go through.”

“I hope so,” Scott put in. “I only hope we don’t get a nasty surprise partway through. If we can’t get through like this, I have no idea how we’re going to get those guys out.”

“I know. And I don’t want to loose any more people from this tunnel.”

“I only I’d….”

“Stop it Scott. We didn’t win the original tender. There’s no if only’s about it. At least none that we had control over.”

It was only the fact that Scott was wearing his helmet that stopped him habitually running his hand through his hair as he did at times of frustration. “I still feel responsible.”

He climbed into the rear of the mole as Virgil slid the canopy shut and fired up the rockets. “You wouldn’t be Scott if you didn’t,” Virgil muttered.

“I heard that,” John’s voice chuckled in his ear, “and I agree.”   
The mole slid through the rock like a hot knife through butter, but Virgil didn’t rush things. The last thing he wanted to have to do was to start at the other end and make another tunnel back. It would waste time, fuel and mean that they’d made an error on their first trip, putting them all in danger.

The noise was deafening, even through helmets equipped with noise-cancelling technology, and the sudden cessation of it equally defeaning. 

“Well, you’re a sight for sore eyes!” Two dirty and tired looking men emerged from a transport vehicle, their faces registering relief, even though the words were light.

“I hope you don’t mind a slightly squashed trip back?” Virgil asked and climbed down. 

“I’ll ride on the side,” he said to Virgil. “It’ll be a tight fit, but you should both fit in the back,” he told the trapped men. 

“Mate, you could strap me onto the roof if it would get me out of here.”

Scott grinned suddenly. “Sorry – that’s my seat. Do you need a hand up? We’ve got some water at the other end. And I believe that John has organised a couple of cold beers for you back at base.”

“You little ripper! Let’s get out of here. I’m not so fond of this place that I’d like to make it my home.”


	12. Chapter 12

Scott took a large bite out of his hamburger, his eyes closed in pleasure. Sitting across from him, Virgil drank his soda, letting the cold drink clear dust from his throat. “I thought for a couple of minutes there we wouldn’t be round to do this,” Virgil said. 

“It was close,” agreed his older brother. “Can’t deny I wasn’t terrified when the ceiling of that service tunnel started to collapse behind us.” Scott looked up from his food. “But we did it, Virg. We managed to fit them both into the Mole and got the hell out of there and we’re safe. And as an added bonus, Gordon and Alan repaired that pipeline and Kayo and John are working to track down who put that pipeline in. We’ve done some amazing work, Virgil! I think we’ve got it all coming together, finally.”

“Don’t discount what you’re doing, Scott,” Virgil replied around a mouthful of his own burger. “Damn this is good. You’ve really been able to step up and be more than just a field commander. You’ve kept us all on track and just kept us going. Even if you are an idiot at times.”

“How are you boys going? Can I get you anything else?” The owner of the diner came over and smiled down on them. 

Scott looked up at the woman and gave her one of his devastating smiles. “What we’ve got is fantastic,” he said. “One of the things we love about doing Australian rescues is if we get a chance to get a burger here. When you guys say ‘the lot’ it really means it!”

“I suppose we should get something for Gordon and Alan,” Virgil said good naturedly. 

“Gordon seemed to prefer to play with dolphins.”

“Yeah, but they’re both bottomless pits, and you don’t have to fly back with them complaining.” He looked at the woman who reminded them somewhat of their grandmother – but with much better cooking skills. “Can we get another two burgers with the lot to go. And a couple of sodas as well.”

“Of course. You boys do such good work, we can’t thank you enough.” She bustled away and Scott and Virgil ate in silence for a few minutes, before they were interrupted. 

“You have to stop him!”

“Alan? What’s wrong?” Scott was half out of his seat before Alan’s voice had even finished and was moving towards the door.

“Gordon! He’s…. oh geez, Gords. I didn’t need to see that!”

Scott relaxed and went back to the table and his half-eaten hamburger. “Do I want to know?” He reached out and gurgled the last of a milkshake through a straw. 

“Hang on – is that…. Are you eating?”

“Strictly no, though milk is a food” Scott couldn’t help tease his youngest brother. 

“You bastards. You’ve got hamburgers haven’t you.”  
“Again, strictly no….”

Alan’s voice sounded depressed. “You get hamburgers and milk shakes, and I get Gordon skinny dipping with dolphins. My life is cursed.”

“Don’t worry Alan,” Scott said jovially, “It won’t last long. We’ve nearly finished here and will come and collect you.”

“Yeah,” Virgil put in. “Let me finish my soda.”

“I hate you.”

888888888888888888888

Scott sat at his father’s desk putting the finishing touches to the mission report. One day, he supposed, he would think of it as his desk, but until they found their father’s body, remains or absolute proof that Jeff Tracy was dead, it would remain his desk.

He saved the report and sat back, picking up the glass from the desk and toasting his father’s photograph with it. “You would have been proud of us today, Father. All of us. We were amazing. I know you would have done things differently, but you aren’t here. We had to make changes, Father, and do things our own way. Because I’m not you, and none of the others are either.”

He sipped the amber liquid in the glass and felt the burn at the back of his throat. It wasn’t his habit, and hadn’t been since International Rescue had become active, to drink alcohol, but tonight he felt that it was right to have this one drink.

“We all miss you Father. And every day it’s harder and harder, but we have to keep going and we have to keep believing that you’ll come home.”

“Talking to yourself, big brother? Isn’t that a sign of insanity?” John’s ghostly form bobbed in front of him.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping? As for talking to myself being a form of insanity – I think I accelerated past insanity years ago. And I wasn’t talking to myself. I was telling Father how fucking awesome we are.”

“Modesty thy name is Scott Tracy,” John said dryly. He floated silently for a few seconds. “But you’re right. I think that our plan has worked incredibly well. We’re all playing to our strengths on missions now. And we’re able to use the ‘Birds in ways that amaze even Brains. We’re doing it Scott. We’re really doing this. Impossible though it seemed at first.”

Scott raised his glass, this time in a toast to John. “We’re Tracy’s Johnny. Impossible is what we do.”

“Every day…” put in John.

“And twice on Fridays,” they finished in unison, and Scott tossed down the rest of his drink, and John sighed enviously.

“What I wouldn’t give for a glass of Father’s good stuff to join that toast,” he said softly.

“When are you going to come home, John? We can take that toast, let the others take on IR and you and I get plastered. It’s been a while you know.”

“Since I came home or since we got plastered together?”

“Both.” Scott looked at John through narrowed eyes. “We’ve missed you, Johnny. I’ve missed you. So – what do you say. You come down. Spend a couple of days at least. We can go up on the roof and get plastered and count shooting stars.”

“It’s tempting… but we can’t leave things unmanned. You know that.”

“And you now we can transfer it all down here if we have to. We did it when Father disappeared. We can do it again. Come on, John. You can’t hide on Five forever. Either you come down voluntarily, or I’ll come up and get you.” Scott paused. “And bring Alan with me to help persuade you.”

John smiled. “Is that meant to be a threat?”

“It’s late. I’m tired. And I know what effect Alan’s kicked puppy look has on you.” Scott suddenly leant forward. “I could order it, John, but I won’t. I’m asking. Come home, Johnny. At least for a bit. We need you here for a while.”

John took a deep breath. “If I come down now, will you wait up for me?”

“If I can get you to come down now, I’ll not only wait up, I’ll have a drink waiting and will tuck you into bed if you want.”

“The drink will be good enough. And I can surprise the others at breakfast.”

“See you soon then. Base out.”

Scott sighed, poured himself another drink and smiled. Yeah. They were doing great. And when he went to bed, he’d sleep soundly knowing that his younger brothers were all safe in their beds (once he and John manhandled Alan into his) here. On Earth. At home. 

It wasn’t perfect, but until their father returned, it was as close to perfect as they could get.

And then tomorrow, they would do it all over again. Because they were Tracys. And the impossible was what they did.


End file.
